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PROVO — A small plane crashed into Utah Lake on Friday, leaving its two occupants submerged for more than 12 hours, according to emergency responders.
Just after 9 p.m., Utah County sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Spencer Cannon said two bodies were recovered from the crash. They were identified as pilot Michael Hyrum Cox, 43, of St. George, and Mark Andrew Johnson, 46, of Washington.
The plane had departed from the St. George Municipal Airport earlier on Friday and, according to an incident report posted by the Flight Safety Foundation, had been cleared to land at the Provo Airport, but for unknown reasons, ended up falling short of the runway there and crashed into the lake at about 10 a.m. It was submerged in about 8½ feet of water for more than 12 hours, Saratoga Springs Fire Chief Jess Campbell said.
By 5 p.m., crews from the sheriff's search and rescue unit and the Utah Department of Public Safety dive team had recovered a "large part" of the submerged plane and a "strong effort at a rescue" was underway. Cannon said the crash was "significant," and debris from the plane was recovered from the lake.
The engine of the plane is still lodged several feet deep in the lake, officials said.
The National Transportation Safety Board posted Friday on X that it is investigating the crash of the Cirrus SR22 plane, a single-engine composite aircraft with the capacity to seat four or five occupants.
NTSB investigating Friday's crash of a Cirrus SR22 airplane into Utah Lake near Provo, Utah.
— NTSB Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) September 27, 2024
Utah Lake State Park remains closed to the public, Cannon said.
